BYU baseball falls to No. 19 San Diego

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The University of San Diego solidified their first place standing in the West Coast Conference after beating BYU 14-7 Thursday night at Miller Park.

San Diego’s team was full of power arms and good hitters, which left  BYU struggling to stay on top.

“We got beat by the better team tonight,” BYU coach Vance Law said,” “That was a good hitting team we saw tonight and we can’t afford to fall behind.”

BYU was able to gain three runs in the third inning with a double hit to left center from Stephen Wells. Alex Wolfe then hit a line drive to right-center field leading to two RBIs and a 5-4 lead.

“I liked our hitters’ intensity in the first five innings, we just didn’t complete it,” Law said.

San Diego’s offense was consistent all night as they scored runs in eight of the nine innings.  BYU on the other hand, was only able to score in three innings. The Cougars actually had a 7-5 lead in the fifth inning but fell short after retiring starting pitcher Desmond Poulson in the seventh inning.

“Our middle relief fell apart as our pitchers had to accept a different role,” Law said. “James Lengal didn’t throw the strikes I thought he would.”

The Toreros took advantage of the last three innings securing eight runs.  Overall, San Diego had 16 hits while BYU only had eight.

On Thursday morning, three BYU pitchers were suspended for violating team rules. Mark Anderson, Chris Capper, and Chris Howard had to watch their team lose to San Diego.  Their absence definitely affected the way the Cougars organized their pitching.

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Chris Capper was one of BYU's stronger pitchers but is now sitting out after a suspension.
“Marshall usually closes, he isn’t typically brought in the seventh inning,” Law said.

With two games left in the series, BYU has the chance to pull ahead.

“We’ve got to look ahead, ” Law said referring to the remaining two games. “I can’t use my whole bullpen the first day.”

The Cougars will face the Toreros Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 12 p.m. at Miller Park.

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